When I came to Japan from the UK in 2019, I already had many years of experience in data jobs. I had progressed from Analyst to Data Science Manager, the latter being a varied and dynamic role covering data management and statistical modelling, but also strategic planning and team leadership. However, I was conscious that I wasn’t likely to find a similar position in Japan, where roles tend to be more specialized. In my search, I could see district roles such as Database Engineer, Data Analyst, or Project Manager, but rarely for positions that combined analysis, project and team leadership.
I also had firsthand experience with Japanese corporate culture, having worked at the UK office of a large Japanese electronics manufacturer. While my experience was very positive, I was under no illusion that maintaining a healthy work-life balance in Japan would be anything but challenging. Besides, there were so many things I wanted to do in Japan, and I needed time to learn and explore!
After a few otherwise promising talks with recruiters, I decided against getting a full-time job in Japan. I had spent years working in public and private organizations, so I now wanted more flexibility and autonomy. The experience I had built up gave me the confidence to go solo—it felt like the natural next step.
- Setting up as a freelancer
- The kind of work I do
- Finding clients
- What clients in Japan are looking for
- The financial side
- What surprised me about freelance work
Setting up as a freelancer
As in my case, as long as you already have a status of residence in Japan that allows work, you can become a freelancer.
This is not as simple as it sounds in many cases, as you will need to provide details of your freelance contracts to show immigration that you make enough to support yourself (roughly at least 3 million yen per year). Additionally, for some visas, such as the Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services visa, one of the companies you contract with will need to agree to provide their financial documents and fill out the employer form.
It is worth noting that people on student and dependent visas can also work freelance if they get Permission to Engage in Other Activities (資格外活動許可, shikakugai katsudou kyoka) from their local immigration office, which in most cases is a straightforward process.
Becoming a sole proprietor
To be considered a sole proprietor (個人事業主, kojinjigyounushi) you submit a notification of opening a business to your local tax office.
Annual tax returns are due by mid-March the following year, and include your income from freelancing, your business expenses, and tax already withheld by your clients. I prefer to do it myself, and I’m familiar with the process by now, but you can hire someone to do it for you.
Physical set up
Unlike the Business Manager visa, you don’t necessarily need a separate bank account for your business income, or to have a physical office. While maintaining a separate account could help with bookkeeping, you can do without one if you want to avoid the additional admin.
The tech setup can be kept to minimum: a desk, a laptop, and a stable connection. I usually work from home, but I use co-working spaces if I need access to meeting rooms, or to focus better.
I make good use of cloud virtual machines to handle RAM-intensive workloads—think about all the processing and modelling tasks which can easily overwhelm a local machine. VMs are a freelancer’s best friend, especially when working on multiple projects.
The kind of work I do
My broad data science background has given me skills across data engineering, modelling and analytics. I work mainly in Python, which is versatile enough for these areas. I was fortunate to gain early exposure to Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Large Language Models (LLMs) through one of my early projects, which proved valuable as these skills have been increasingly in demand.
Over the years I have worked with NGOs, start-ups, and educational institutions on projects with varying levels of technical complexity.
As an engineer
Most of my work has been as a Data and ML Engineer. This may include areas such as data schema design, cross-cloud integration, data pipelines, workflow automation, and analytics.
Depending on the client, you may need to work on their chosen platform, e.g. AWS, Azure, and sometimes with specific data types such as LLM-related data structures or geospatial formats.
A number of my projects in Japan involved recommender systems, which require a lot of experimentation across both data and models. Close collaboration with the client is essential to inform the evaluation criteria. More recently, some of my work is in LLM-based solutions, which includes not only knowledge of the models, but again, a lot of work on the data preparation side and evaluation design.
As an educator
Teaching is in general an excellent opportunity for freelancers in Japan. During COVID, I was invited to teach data science by a coding bootcamp where I had previously given talks to their students. More recently, my experience with NGOs and tech community projects led to an opportunity to teach MBA students. I am also consulting on developing an introductory technology curriculum at the high school level. Technology educators are passionate about their work and open for conversations, making it natural to build connections that could lead to opportunities.
Many tech professionals approach teaching with caution, as it’s something way outside their comfort zone. But don’t underestimate yourself as an expert—people genuinely want to learn from you.
Finding clients
I wish there was a foolproof way to get clients that I could share with others considering freelancing in Japan. The reality is that it often involves a degree of luck.
While my client connections have come mostly through recommendations and casual networking, if you agree that luck happens when “preparation meets opportunity,” then there are some ways to increase your chances.
Some examples of how these worked in my case:
- My pro-bono work on a project led to me being invited to continue working with the same NGO on a paid basis.
- Through people I worked with during the project, I got connected to a company looking for a data engineer in Japan.
- My experience in education, mentioned casually, led to an introduction and long-term partnership with a company in this domain.
- A talk I gave led to an invitation to teach, and a referral for a project.
I have many other examples like these that led to either a direct engagement, or to at least being on the radar of potential clients.
A good “starter pack” for aspiring freelancers would also include:
- Having a professional-looking profile, blog, or portfolio site to share with potential clients
- Practicing being able to talk about your work in an engaging way
- Keeping and regularly sharing any evidence you have of your work and its impact
What clients in Japan are looking for
My clients in Japan have so far expected a high level of technical knowledge and experience, combined with the ability to adapt to their needs and workflow.
A combination of domain expertise and technical skills
This requires experience across the stack, from data sourcing to evaluation, as well as familiarity with domain-specific methods, such as different types of recommender systems, geospatial data, etc.
If you have gaps, you may want to address them beforehand. When I started my first project with geospatial data, I spent weeks beforehand learning the basics and particularities of geospatial formats, so that I could hit the ground running.
Understanding of (and ideally experience in) problems and solutions relevant to the client
It’s important to know the key topics in the industry—e.g. student engagement for education, zoning and land use for real estate, etc. Being familiar with these, along with the relevant discussions, data sources, and example solutions, puts the technology in proper context.
For example, through my previous work in education I know about the different methods of virtual delivery, and my planning work has given me firsthand experience with forecasting models.
You should also have bookmarks of industry research and influential voices, and follow them to stay up to date.
The ability to adapt to the client’s chosen cloud platform
Few clients are flexible enough to accommodate your preferred stack, so you will need to work in their environment. Becoming productive quickly in unfamiliar systems, while keeping focus on the problem rather than the platform’s features, is an important skill.
Personally I work mostly in Microsoft Azure, but for one of my clients I have to jump to AWS now and then.
Japanese skills
I have the JLPT N3, but so far Japanese hasn’t been a requirement for my engagements, although being based in Japan was. However, it has proven useful over time, for example, in sourcing data and facilitating communication, which in turn provides another kind of value for the client.
Also, partners in Japan tend to appreciate your effort in learning Japanese, as they see this as a long-term commitment to working in Japan.
The financial side
However, you also need to factor in the expenses that would normally be covered, at least partly, by the employer, such as health insurance and pension. I was quite surprised to see that these are significantly higher than they would have been in the UK, where self-employment is encouraged and treated more favourably.
For simplicity, I have opted for National Health Insurance (国民健康保険, kokumin kenkou hoken) and National Pension (国民年金, kokumin nenkin) for now, but I may explore other options in the future.
Also, steady income is not always a guarantee. While some contracts end up being long term, some seemingly promising assignments prove to just be one-offs. Others may be sporadically paused while the client considers the next steps.
Setting your rates
There is no standard approach to setting up freelance rates. If a client has already provided a budget or rate range, this is a good starting point. In some fields, such as teaching, rates may already be fixed or standardized.
It’s also a good idea to wait for the client to make the first offer, as this gives valuable information about their expectations and budget. Using this as a baseline, you can adjust your price for technical difficulty (e.g. complex cross-cloud integration vs routine data work), urgency, or project duration (a one-off vs a continuing engagement). Conversely, if their budget is fixed, you can adjust the scope of your offer.
When I feel that the client is concerned about the budget—and they usually will find a way to communicate that, for example by focusing on cost early in the conversation, or being willing to reduce the scope—I sometimes prepare two proposals. I give them a standard offer and an enhanced one, and then let the client choose the level they consider the best value.
Ultimately, if you feel that you’re fairly compensated for your work, and feel good about the agreement, it’s probably a decent rate.
What surprised me about freelance work
- As a freelancer you need to demonstrate that you are creating value from day one. Technical skills and experience still matter, but clients care about outcomes. This may mean going beyond your original scope and doing whatever is needed to ensure a quality outcome—data cleaning, schema design, and testing come to mind.
- Data Science/Machine Learning roles translate well to freelancing because companies want the specialist expertise without committing to a full-time hire. That said, some clients have only a vague idea of what they’re asking and often underestimate the scope and scale, which is one reason projects last longer than planned.
- Having fewer meetings is a game changer for productivity. Clients want to maximize the value of your time, so meetings are kept to a minimum. This allows for longer, uninterrupted periods for focused work.
- You often have to give before you receive. Free consultations, speaking engagements, tech community involvement, and pro-bono work lead to future contacts, opportunities and engagements.
- You don’t need to network relentlessly. Tokyo is quite good at distracting you with meetups and events, many of them focusing on startups and emerging topics. Of course it’s great to be connected, but it’s important not to spread yourself too thin. Networking too follows the law of diminishing returns.
- Freelancing is less lonely than I expected: even with fewer meetings there is a good sense of connection between colleagues. The wider tech community is an excellent sounding board, and there has always been a strong culture of knowledge sharing and camaraderie.
Conclusion
A caveat before I conclude: freelancing in Japan worked for me partly because I was in a position where I could afford time to find my footing, and because my background and skills happened to be in demand. For someone in a different situation and with other commitments, they may need to approach freelancing from another angle entirely.
Being a sole proprietor has given me the opportunity to explore new areas and forms of work, such as teaching, that I may not have been able to pursue if I was in a full-time role. Financially, it’s a trade-off between flexibility and uncertainty. It is still a way to build a professional career, provided that you align the work to your strengths, and think about continuity with every next engagement.